Traditional Chinese Food--Zongzi

Origin of country - China

Time - 90 minutes

Cost - under 3 pounds (But normaly more than one)


Zongzi (Chinese: 粽子) is a traditional Chinese food made of glutinous rice, stuffed with different fillings, and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. It is the most popular food of the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi is steamed or boiled. When chinese people talk about Zongzi the most famous person be mentioned is Qu Yuan and it's also the Origins of Zongzi. Zongzi are traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar (approximately late-May to mid-June), commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. Known for his patriotism, Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbors. When the Qin general Bai Qi took Yingdu, the Chu capital, in 278 BC, Qu Yuan's grief was so intense that he drowned himself in the Miluo river after penning the Lament for Ying. According to legend, packets of rice were thrown into the river to prevent the fish from eating the poet's body.

If you like to try it, please click: http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/zongzi.htm

Chinese fried rice recipe

Most chinese people like to eat rice, but only rice is not enough. Consequently, our ancestors invented delicious Chinese fried rice that is enough for lunch.

Country of origin: China

Cost: Under £3

Time: approximately 30 mins

Personal Tips: you can add some ingredients without the recipe depends on your taste, such as ham, chopped carrot and so on.

I always make some fried rice to eat in the UK when I missed my hometown, and if you have no time to make some dishes fried rice is one of the best ways to make food. The link below is the recipe, hope you can make your own Chinese fried rice. Enjoy!!!

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/indo-chinese/veg-fried-rice.html

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken has globally became one of the most popular Chinese dishes, because it  is really delicious. This dish comes from Sichuan Cooking that is significantly famous in China. We can see this dish from the pictures below.

Country of origin: China (Sichuan Province)

Cost: under £5

Time: under 30 mins

Tips: best eat with rice (You can see from the pics)

If you are interested in cooking this delicious Chinese dishes, you can start to do it yourself follow the recipe of the link below.

http://chinese.food.com/recipe/kung-pao-chicken-40339

Finally, hope you can do it!!!

Delicious Chinese tea eggs

Tea eggs, also called marbled eggs, are distinctive looking and easy to make. Serve them as a snack or with a dim sum lunch, for breakfast Easter morning or during the Chinese New Year season.

These eggs are tea eggs.

Cook time: 2 hours

Cost: under £5.

Ingredients: 6 eggs , 3.5 cups cold water or as needed, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 0.5 cup brewed black tea, 2 star anise, broken into individual pieces and 1 cinnamon stick.

Tips: (You can put more eggs with more other ingredients)

Preparation: 

place the eggs in a saucepan with the water, making sure that there is at least 0.5 inch of water above the eggs. Cover and bring to a rolling boil. Remove the saucepan from the element and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15-20 minutes, until they are cooked. Remover the eggs and run them under cold running water to cool (Reserve the water in the pan).

Tap the hard-boiled eggs gently with the back of a spoon, to make a series of cracks all over the eggshells, while making sure the shell remains intact (if the shell does come off, do not worry- it just means that egg will have a darker color than the others).

Bring the water in the pan back to a boil. Add the salt, soy sauce, brewed black tea, star anise pieces, and the cinnamon stick. Add the eggs. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot liquid until ready to serve. Serves 6.

Nutritional Breakdown: 6 servings

Each serving contains: Calories 91, 4g Carbohydrates (1 percent of daily total, based on a 2,000 calorie diet), 7g Protein, 5g total fat, 2g Saturated fat, 212 mg Cholesterol, 2g Fibre and 774 mg Sodium.

Most chinese people like this kind of eggs because this is easy to cook and with salty tea flavor. Believe me that it is really delicious. Finally, hope this can help you know more about Chinese food and if you have any questions about Chinese food just comment this blog.

Neal